Into The Woods
by SpreadtheIove
Summary: Modern day setting. Valerie's moved into her late Grandmother's cabin after the disappearance of her father and all that she once knew.
1. At First Sight

**Into the Woods**

* * *

**_1: At First Sight_**

_Peter_

There's a girl running in the moonlight, frantic, racing away from something. But what? Inevitability? I'm compelled to watch, there's something so desperate in the way she moves. When she finally stops, leaning against a tree for support, I'm drawn even closer to her and I know, that she knows, that I'm here. My heart starts to race, as though we were running together. I can see it in her eyes. She will change. It's coming head on, unavoidable as a car crash. She holds the tree, it's become her life support. Clinging to it with all she has, trying to hold on. She looks at me and she can tell that we're in this together. She's finally found another and she's unsure how she fells about that. Relieved or forced to see that she really is this monster. A monster she doesn't want anyone to know about, not even a fellow monster. She looks away, pretending I don't exist, and wishing that neither of us did. So I step back. If she wants she'll find me herself. Despite the warmth of the night I shiver because I have finally found her. The one I was destined to be with, the one who will change everything I am, everything I've become. Even if she doesn't know it yet, even if she doesn't want it, we were meant for each other, it was destined for us to wind up together. Its been written in the stars my whole life. Her denial is only temporary. I'll force her to see me if it's the last thing I do.

* * *

A/N: I've had this on my mind for a while and decided to finally get it off my chest. This is going to be a modern version of the movie Red Riding Hood, with a few twists to make it more my own of course : P Please R&R


	2. Meetings With A Ghost

"The wolf changes his coat but not his disposition." - Proverb

Chapter two:: Meetings with a Ghost

Valerie

Daggerhorn is like a world of it's own. A small close-knit community. Woods on one side, ocean on another. It's a place where you greet your neighbors daily with a friendly smile. It's the kind of place that rarely gets new tenants. It's somewhere you can allow your kids to run off all day, knowing in your heart that they are perfectly safe. It's a place where you come to find who you truly are, where you become who you're supposed to be. Whether you like that person or not….

I looked out my window and grimaced, he was there again. Leaning against the same old god-forsaken tree….just leaning there! Looks right at home too. "Hey look at me, just leaning against this tree like I own the place. Drinking a beer out of a paper bag because it makes me look so damn cool." I shook my head as I ranted aloud to the empty cabin. The first time I saw him I'd been on a night run. Sometimes when the pain becomes too much to bear, when the moon is too full, I try to run it out. Maybe there's a part of me that feels like I can outrun this curse. Run back in time…to how things used to be. I'd been running when I'd finally collapsed onto a tree and I saw him. He'd been standing there. Just standing there, staring at me. His was a face I had never seen before yet seemed to know from my dreams. From nightmares. There was something so familiar about him and in that instant I knew what he was. He looked at me with something bordering reverence. Reverence! For me! Despicable. There was something else in his eyes too, hunger. I'd shuddered as I looked at him and saw that. Hunger, expectancy, knowledge. All in one look. The arrogance of it pushed me over the edge and I ran away, hoping all the while that I'd never see him again, yet knowing that I would.

I flung the curtain back into place and marched into the small bathroom. Flicking on the light I grabbed my brush off the counter and ran it through my blonde hair. I adjusted my shirt to hide the scars on my shoulder and frowned. Touching the scar tissue on the bottom left of my face I frowned. I fingered each line and then shook my head. No. There was no time today to get lost in memories. I was already running late. I applied some chap stick and left the bathroom, turning the light off behind me. I shrugged on the old, brown, leather jacket over my black t-shirt, slung the simple black Jansport backpack over my shoulders, and opened the door. I deftly grabbed the keys off the hook and locked up in one swift motion.

I stomped my way across the yard and towards the footpath near my unwanted visitor. I sneered at him as I saw the cigarette hanging precariously off his lips. I swear he does this just to get a rise out of me. As I though this he flicked off the ashes into the bushes at his side. I used to completely ignore him until the first time I'd seen him with a lit cigarette. Forest fires were something of a worry to me.

"Put that out," I growled as I came up to him.

He smiled smugly at me, "I'm not sure I'd like to. It's slimming you know?"

I snarled again, "And deadly, you moron! Not to mention the fact that I happen to live here, surround by trees and brush, which when combined with ash can result in deadly forest fires."

"I'd love to get the chance to sit down and listen to your lecture on smoking," at this he glanced down gave a mock gasp of surprise, lifting his hand to cover his mouth, "but, oh dear, it seems you're running late for work." He smiled that smile again.

"Piss off," I said simply as I walked past him and started to head into the woods. I took this route daily, except for Sundays, to the local library where I worked.

"Actually my name's Peter, a much more attractive name if I do say so myself."

I grumbled under my breath and continued on, ignoring him to the best of my ability. "You know I could give you a ride to work, if you begged enough," he said as he continued tailing me.

"I'd rather die than beg you for anything," I mumbled.

"Mumbling is a very unattractive quality you know. I, for instance, have a crystal clear voice. Carries quite well too I might add."

You are a narcissistic, pompous, prick. He began humming as he followed me and I eventually dug my iPod out of my bag and turned the music up until I could almost forget he was there…..almost.

I managed to arrive at the Daggerhorn Public Library on time and smiled as I shrugged off my coat and stashed my stuff in the employee lounge. It's small and not well stocked, not to mention pays minimum wage, but it's a job and I love being able to work near the wealth of information the well worn pages hold. The possible worlds behind each cover always captivated me. I'd started working here part time when I was sixteen. Four years later the job hadn't changed, but I had. I used to be close to the people I worked with. The librarian, Annie, and the two other people who worked here would have me over for dinner and book club meetings regularly…until I turned eighteen and my whole world stopped. Two years later and the only things they say to me are "Can you stock these books." "We could use help up front." "Here's your paycheck." I can't blame them though. This is what I wanted after all.

I thought about this as I shelved the latest teen fiction novels up near the check out station. It was as I was doing this that a familiar head of blonde hair came up to the self checkout. I could only see the back of him but I'd recognize the wavy blonde hair anywhere. He'd grown a bit since I'd last seen him, it'd been two years since we'd talked face to face….one since I'd even seen him. Word was he'd went off to college, studying to be a Vet. A dream we'd both had in common. It was as I stared at him that I dropped the book I'd been blindly trying to put on the shelf. As he started to swing his gaze towards the noise I tried to look away. I really did try but I wasn't quick enough in a second I was staring into the soulful brown eyes of Henry Lazar.

I whipped back around to the shelf in front of me, cheeks blazing, and tried to pretend I hadn't seen him. I was doing a lot of that lately it seemed. I peeked out of the corner of my eye to see that he'd turned back around to the self checkout scanner. I sighed in relief.

I'd gone back to shelving when I heard a shuffle and a slight cough behind me.

"Hey Valerie, I'm sorry to bother you but the self-scan station isn't working and I don't see anyone else around."

Damn. I gripped the book in my hand to my chest and stood up from the floor. "It's no bother, I'll have a look at it." I walked over to the station, Henry behind me, and glanced at the wires to make sure they were all connected. "What exactly seems to be the problem?"

"Well it won't scan my card."

I looked at the scanner and noticed the red light was off, I flipped it over flicked the on button. The light came on, "Sorry, I forgot to turn on the scanner this morning," I said sheepishly, stepping aside to let him carry on with the check out.

He smiled softly at me, captivating me, "I guess your relationship with technology hasn't improved much."

I smiled, "You know me; cell phones, iPods, computers we just don't get along."

"I remember. Especially you and TV's. Watching you try to hook up simple cable was the most entertaining part of high school."

I laughed at the memory. I'd somehow come out of my room with the three different cables wrapped around me, begging for help. "Yeah, the first and last time I ever tangle with TV's," the smile slipped from my face as I realized what we were doing, "Anyways, I'll let you get back to it. Have a nice day." I gave him a little wave and watched as he packed up his books and headed out the doors. I collapsed back onto the floor next to the box of books and absently shelved the rest of them. I'd finally run into him. The ghost of my past and my dreams. It was everything and nothing like I thought it would be. I had no right to think of it at all though. I was no good for him anymore. I'm no good for anyone…


	3. Thanks For The Memories

**_3: Thanks For The Memories_**

_Henry_

The night was humid and the air was thick with smoke. The bonfire lent a mysterious, thrilling, atmosphere that left us teens sweaty and feverish. However, the fevered look in my eyes, I knew, had nothing to do with the temperature. Looking around at the wild dancing by girls who'd shed their shirts in favor of bikini tops and Daisy Dukes I had to wonder if it wasn't just me. A squeeze of my hand brought my attention, which hardly ever wavered, back to my side. Her sea green eyes matched the wicked smile that stretched across her mouth. The burning in my soul, in the pit of my stomach, heightened just by looking at her.

She stood and led me away from our classmates and towards a clearing in the woods we knew all too well. The gnarled old oak had been inscribed with our names two years prior, when we'd first started dating. A soft blanket was along the ground beside it and I looked at Val. We'd put off this moment for so long, because we had wanted to know each other in every other way first. There was no one in the world I felt closer to and in the moonlight, with her looking at me, I knew she'd be the one I'd spent the rest of my life with. Cupping her face with my hand I leaned in to kiss her gently, a question that lingered on my lips was passed onto hers, and with her returning embrace, it was answered. So, for the first time, in what would be a thousand other times, we gave ourselves to each other. It was as perfect, she was as perfect, as I knew it would be.

Then something happened. Small at first, post-anxiety perhaps? Her breathing seemed to quicken rather than slow down. Her face became more and more flushed and her skin clammy. Did I do something wrong? It had felt perfect to me and she'd seemed to feel the same way….so why were her eyes filled with worry and fear. Was she afraid of me? She couldn't be. But as I tried to console her and find out what was wrong she became even more panicky, her body shaking as she threw her clothes back on hastily and took off. I was so shocked that for a few minutes I couldn't even move. I remember taking my time getting dressed and then wandering back to the party to look for her….but she wasn't there. We'd driven together so she couldn't have gone far. As I thought about it an answer appeared. Her grandmothers. She didn't live far from this spot. I ran there as fast as I could.

I hadn't known what to expect; her crying to her grandmother about a mistake she'd make? But, I hadn't expected this. Valerie sat on the ground in front of the cabin, bleeding profusely from her face, neck, and shoulder. She was stark naked and a wolf lay decapitated in the yard. However, the most disturbing was the fact that her grandmother lay dead across her lap. Silent tears hit her grandmother's face and as hard as I tried I could not get a response from Valerie. I ran into the cabin and grabbed the first item of clothing I saw, a red cloak. As I pulled Valerie away from her grandmother and towards the cabin, calling the police while I walked her, it began. She stayed closed off to me….she never opened up again.

...

As I left the library the memory hit me and for a moment I was thrown back in time. Two years and it was still as fresh, and sweet, and devastating as the day it happened. It was never discovered what had happened. The medical examiner said her grandmother had been killed by a wolf, and that the deep gouges that scarred Valerie were also from the wolf. She claimed to never have recovered her memory. Post traumatic stress. Even odder, her father disappeared in the same night and was never heard from again. To this day, they don't know what happened to him. It was like Valerie disappeared with him, at least to me that's the way it seemed


	4. Distractions

4: Distractions

_Peter_

Blonde hair spilled over the black, silk, pillow case as her sea green eyes traced his every movement. She reached out a slender hand to touch his bare skin and he smiled slightly, allowing the caress. Lingering for a second longer, her hand began to travel, he pulled away and began to dress. A glance down at the watch on his wrist told him he was running out of time and he dressed quicker.

"Where is it you're always going? You're so mysterious."

He looked down into the speaker's face. Smooth, creamy, unmarred skin. Skin that knows nothing of life, of sorrow.

"You really want to know?" She nodded enthusiastically.

"I go and see the girl I really want to be with and wait until she's ready to be with me. You are the distraction dear."

He pulled into a low duck as the glass of water from her bedside table crashed against the wall behind him. As she began screaming insults he chuckled and backed out of the room. Mentally he calculated one week until she came begging for more, one week was generous.

Grabbing the black and red helmet from the dining room table he bolted out into the sunlight, mounted the Ninja sitting next to the sidewalk, gunned the engine, and sped off down the street.

* * *

One more glance down at the wristwatch, 5:00 exactly. The boy leaned forward on the bike and watched the entrance to the library. She exited carrying a bundle of books in her arms, this was a common occurrence. She began to walk right past him, unknowing as to who was under the mask. She threw an appreciative glance at the bike.

"Like what you see?"

Recognizing the familiar voice she rolled her eyes and sped up toward the mouth of the forest.

"You want a ride."

She scoffed, "With you? Pass."

He smiled at her rebuff. Her need to give a witty remark was encouraging. If she truly had no interest she would just ignore him. As this thought crossed his mind he gave a predatory smile that the mask hid. It was time to close in.

* * *

"Are all those books supposed to help you deal with your sexual frustration?"

She sighed, "I guess it was too much to hope that you'd taken that bike and driven it off a cliff."

"I know I'm a lot to take in, it must be overwhelming for you senses," at this he paused and placed a hand on her upper arm, sliding it down, "If you ever need any help with that, just let me know, I'd be more than happy to assist you."

She stumbled and several of the books toppled onto the ground. She started to lean down to pick them up but he'd already gathered them into a pile. As she held out her arms to take them he shook his head.

"I've got these. Did my touch excite…..I mean startle you?" He smiled deviously.

"I tripped over a root."

He looked down at the smooth ground and smiled again, "Sure you did."

They continued to walk in silence until the cabin was within sight, "I'll take those back now." He handed the books over and leaned against his signature tree. He was only alone for a moment before she returned with a single book in her hand. "I got this for you, maybe you'll learn something."

Astonished, he turned the book over.

_Vexed With Your Vices?_  
_ This guide serves as an end all to your no good habits_  
_ -smoking_  
_ -drinking_  
_ -sexual promiscuity_  
He stopped reading and looked up to say something else but she'd already returned to the cabin.


End file.
